This revised R01 A1 proposal (AA022493), Consequences of Adolescent Alcohol Use on Brain Development, responds to the need to understand the impact of initiating alcohol consumption on adolescent brain maturation. We have teamed with the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research (CeASAR) and Boston Children's Hospital to implement an innovative strategy that combines multiple neuroimaging and neuropsychological approaches to identify neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities associated with early and escalating alcohol use during adolescence. Adolescents will be recruited from general pediatrician offices and adolescent medicine clinics comprising the New England Partnership for Substance Abuse Research (NEPSAR), a practice-based research network of primary care offices. Adolescents will be enrolled into the study prior to the initiation of alcoho use or other drug use, and examined longitudinally, at baseline (13-14 yrs old) and again at two annual follow-up visits. To provide a comprehensive longitudinal profile of brain function, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and task and resting state blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be paired with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure GABA and glutamate levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and medial temporal lobe (MTL, containing hippocampus). In addition, arterial spin labeling (ASL) will be used to measure quantitative perfusion, which will be used to calibrate the magnitude of BOLD fMRI signal changes during response inhibition and spatial memory fMRI tasks. Magnetic resonance measures will be integrated with measures from clinical assessments and an extensive neuropsychological battery, designed to detect and further characterize developmental changes and the influence of adolescent alcohol use. The incorporation of complementary multi-modal measures of brain function and neuroplasticity could offer valuable insight into the dynamic processes of brain maturation and help identify neural signatures associated with the onset and escalation of alcohol use, which will provide a foundation for informing prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing adolescent alcohol consumption.

Public Health Relevance

This longitudinal, multi-modal study of adolescents during the critical period of brain maturation, and during a time that overlaps with the onset of alcohol initiation, will help elucidate milestones of healthy adolescent brain development and identify neural signatures associated with the onset and escalation of alcohol use.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AA022493-03
Application #
9064026
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Matochik, John A
Project Start
2014-09-05
Project End
2019-05-31
Budget Start
2016-06-01
Budget End
2017-05-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Mclean Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
046514535
City
Belmont
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
Sneider, Jennifer T; Cohen-Gilbert, Julia E; Hamilton, Derek A et al. (2018) Adolescent Hippocampal and Prefrontal Brain Activation During Performance of the Virtual Morris Water Task. Front Hum Neurosci 12:238
D?Souza-Li, Lilia; Harris, Sion Kim (2016) The future of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment in adolescent primary care: research directions and dissemination challenges. Curr Opin Pediatr 28:434-40
Spear, Linda Patia; Silveri, Marisa M (2016) Special Issue on the Adolescent Brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 70:1-3
Silveri, Marisa M; Dager, Alecia D; Cohen-Gilbert, Julia E et al. (2016) Neurobiological signatures associated with alcohol and drug use in the human adolescent brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 70:244-259